Exhibitions

Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses at the Brooklyn Museum, New York: 16 May – 6 December, 2026

No one does couture quite like Iris van Herpen, whose work exists at the intersection of fashion and intricate sculpture. Fusing traditional artisanship with pioneering technologies – including 3D printing and laser cutting – the Dutch designer creates breathtakingly ethereal silhouettes that draw on biomimicry, fractal geometry and neuroscience. Some 140 of these feature in her touring exhibition, Sculpting the Senses, which will soon make its US debut at the Brooklyn Museum. Contemporary artworks and designs by artists such as Philip Beesley and Nick Knight, as well as scientific specimens like coral and skeletons, will be shown in dialogue with van Herpen’s work, revealing the inspirations and ideas behind her remarkable creations.

Helter Skelter: Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince at Ca’ Corner della Regina, Venice: 9 May – 23 November, 2026

At Ca’ Corner della Regina in Venice, Fondazione Prada will soon unveil what it terms “a creative conversation” between the inimitable American artists Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince. Born a decade apart, the two “share an ethos of lawlessness” when it comes to the appropriation and manipulation of images from US pop culture, the foundation notes, and yet their work has never been examined in tandem before. Across two floors of the Venetian palazzo, visitors will encounter more than 50 works by the artists – from photographs, videos and installations to sculptures and paintings – spotlighting the ways they both expose the “grit and grift” of their home country, while “embracing many of its myths and perversions”.

Danielle Mckinney: Forest for the Trees at Boesky Gallery, New York: 7 May – 13 June, 2026

New York’s Boesky Gallery will soon unveil an arresting new series of paintings by US artist Danielle Mckinney. Known for her cinematic portraits of solitary female protagonists captured at rest in domestic settings, McKinney’s latest works expand upon this genre. This time, however, the figures are a little less defined, evoking a sense of uncertainty, of time passing, as they smoke cigarettes and lounge on modernist furniture. Reflecting the period of personal and collective turmoil during which they were made, these works render “the dreamlike domestic realms less polished sets for the performance of rest and more refuge amidst a world on fire”.

Genuine Fake Premium Economy at the ICA, London: 1 May – 5 July, 2026

Genuine Fake Premium Economy at the ICA foregrounds the work of three American artists – Jenna Bliss, Buck Ellison and Jasmine Gregory – each of whom was born in the US in the mid-1980s and transitioned into adult life in the aftermath of the 2008 recession. While Bliss most frequently works in moving image, Ellison in photography and Gregory in painting and assemblage, all three appropriate and satirise “the real” to highlight the artifice of contemporary representation and the largely fictitious notion of the American Dream. In bringing their work together, this incisive group show “takes the pulse of a generation shaped by a broken global economy and examines how financial precarity has challenged myths of fairness, progress and meritocracy”. 

Corbijn, Anton at Fotografiska Berlin: 9 May – 20 September, 2026

At Fotografiska Berlin, Anton Corbijn celebrates his 50-year career with a retrospective of his photography and film. When the Dutch image-maker first moved to London in 1979, the city was in the throes of a musical heyday, pioneered by bands like The Clash, The Jam and Joy Division. Corbijn, a shy music obsessive used his camera to gain access to the scene, honing his grainy black-and-white aesthetic, and a knack for capturing the essence of his subjects. Music videos, and eventually feature films like Control and A Most Wanted Man, would later follow, alongside a continued love of portraiture. Conceived in close dialogue with Corbijn himself, the show unites not only his most famous works – expect candid snapshots of Depeche Mode, Kurt Cobain, Nick Cave et al – but also a rarely seen selection of his own personal favourites. 

Lara Shahnavaz: Dust at Ginny on Frederick, London: 9 May – 12 June, 2026

Londoners, don’t miss the new exhibition from Turkish-Iranian painter Lara Shahnavaz, a searing reflection on grief arriving at Ginny on Frederick next week. Created in the months after the death of Shahnavaz’s partner and the outbreak of war in Iran, the works on display merge Eastern and Western imagery to mystical effect. An oversized, reclining female figure adorns her body with her surroundings – trees, architecture, mountains; a pair of disembodied heads flank a bright red shrub. Beautiful and sad, haunting and enchanting, here “painting becomes a quiet act of survival and an intimate, solitary practice through which grief is processed, held and slowly transformed”.

Daido Moriyama: Love Letters to Photography at Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris: 20 May – 4 October, 2026

Few photographers are as besotted by their medium as the Japanese image-maker Daido Moriyama, who once declared, “I wanted to go to the end of photography” while describing his ambition for his practice. He addresses photography on a daily basis through images, books and writing, has made repeated pilgrimages to locations associated with the very first photographer, Nicéphore Niépce, and at the age of 86 remains one of the medium’s most active, experimental and influential figures. This month, a new exhibition at Paris’s Jeu de Paume will stage a non-chronological exploration of the photographer’s six-decade practice, structured around “a single, decisive premise: Moriyama’s obsession with photography itself”. And we, for one, can’t wait.

Euphoria at Bold Tendencies, London 15 May – 12 September, 2026

High above Peckham, Bold Tendencies – the not-for-profit arts organisation that transforms a multi-storey car park into a bustling cultural beacon each summer – returns with a series of five new commissions tied to this year’s theme: euphoria. Featured artists for the 2026 edition include Athen Kardashian and Nina Mhach Durban, who have conjured a monumental love letter to south London’s high streets, while revered German photographer Andreas Gursky will present a vast, immersive billboard paying tribute to contemporary rave culture.

Skate 50 at Southbank Centre, London: 5 May – 21 June, 2026

Marking 50 years since skateboarders first adopted the concrete space under the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London’s Southbank as their own, a new exhibition at the Southbank Centre celebrates the history of this storied cornerstone of UK skate culture. Created in collaboration with active members of the site’s skate community, it turns the spotlight on the key events, figures and moments that have defined it, using archive film and photography, as well as sound art and animation. A must-see for the subculturally curious.

Peggy Guggenheim in London at The Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice: October 2026

Although Peggy Guggenheim was born and raised in New York, and is most readily associated with Venice – the city where she spent the last three decades of her life, buying art and wearing fabulous sunglasses – the late, great American art collector also spent a brief but influential stint in London. It was there she opened her first gallery, Guggenheim Jeune, in January 1938. Active for just 18 months, it quickly became a hub of avant-garde art with a focus on abstraction and surrealism, and saw Guggenheim blossom as a patron, collector and tastemaker. If you’re heading to Venice for the Biennale, be sure to catch the wonderful new exhibition detailing Guggenheim’s London year, currently on show her former palazzo on the Grand Canal.

Mending Lands at St Vincents Gallery, Antwerp: 14 May – 26 June, 2026

In Antwerp, St Vincents Gallery will soon unveil an eye-catching new body of work by Amsterdam designer Marte Mei van Haaster, developed during a research residency in Zeeland, a region profoundly affected by PFAS pollution. For her new collection, the eco-conscious van Haaster has transformed the stems of hemp plants used in phytoremediation (a plant-based method of removing or reducing environmental pollutants from the soil) into bordeaux-hued tables, jewel-toned shelves and other sleek furnishings that “embody a closed-loop approach to material use, proposing regeneration rather than remediation alone”.

Events & Productions

Any rainy May days can be ameliorated by a trip to the theatre to lose yourself in dance, song or drama. Top of our list is the new production of Samuel Beckett’s play Krapp’s Last Tape, which returns to the Royal Court on 8 May, 68 years after it first showed there. Directed by and starring none other than Gary Oldman, the play takes us on an emotional journey through an old man’s life in a single act. Seats for the month-long run are already sold out, but don’t despair: the Royal Court releases a batch of £15 tickets every Monday.

Good news for anyone who missed rising playwright Ava Pickett’s latest work, 1536, during its sell-out run at the Almeida. This astute study of “female friendship in a world stacked against women” has now transferred to the Ambassadors Theatre, where it will run until 1 August, delivering razor-sharp observations that belie its Tudor setting.

It may come as a surprise to know that no play by Berthold Brecht has ever been staged at Shakespeare’s Globe – until now. This month marks the arrival of the radical German playwright’s anti-war masterpiece, Mother Courage and Her Children, at the Southwark theatre. Posing ever-relevant questions about survival, capitalism and complicity, the play will star Michelle Terry as the eponymous lead, and runs from 7 May–27 June.

Dance fans, book your tickets for PUFF – a collaboration between the pioneering Brazilian choreographers Alice Ripoll and Hiltinho Fantástico at Sadler’s Wells from 13–14 May. Billed as a “transcendent solo performance honouring generations of knowledge”, the piece explores the ancestry of Brazilian dance, beginning in Africa, and traversing samba, capoeira and passinho through the lens of contemporary dance.

Opera lovers will be thrilled by the return of Glyndebourne Festival, opening on 23 May with Rossini’s irrepressible farce Il turco in Italia – a story of Neapolitan life and love that “fizz[es] with wit, mischief and flirtation”. This will be followed by five other works, including Mozart’s singspiel Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Puccini’s political thriller Tosca, which will bring the festival to a close on 30 August. 

For spellbinding song of a different kind, we recommend a trip to the Barbican, where Aldous Harding is sure to thrill audiences with her singular, shapeshifting vocals over the course of a three-night run from 29–31 May. A mesmerising performer, the New Zealand singer-songwriter is currently promoting her atmospheric new album, Train on the Island, co-produced by her long‑time collaborator John Parish.

Film

This month is peppered with great new film releases. Spanish auteur Carla Simón returns with Romería, a deeply moving reflection on family origins that follows an 18-year-old woman as she ventures to meet her late father’s family for the first time. For those in search of a good horror, check out Obsession, the debut feature from writer-director Curry Barker, who went viral on YouTube with his short chiller Milk & Serial. A cautionary “be careful what you wish for” tale, it is the story of a music store employee with a major crush, and a novelty gift that grants him one wish. Nail-biting mayhem ensues. Steven Soderbergh’s latest film, The Christophers, is entertaining and empathetic in equal measure. In it, the children of a once-lauded artist hire a forger to complete his unfinished works, as his death – and the promise of their inheritance – looms.

Chilean director Diego Céspedes makes his Cannes-winning feature debut with The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo. Set in a small mining town in the grip of a mysterious disease, it follows 11-year-old Lidia and her beloved queer family, who find themselves blamed for the contagion. Yet another accomplished debut comes courtesy of Andrew Durham’s Fairyland, a stirring father-daughter portrait produced by Sofia Coppola. Based on Alysia Abbott's acclaimed memoir of the same name, it sees a young girl relocate to 1970s San Francisco with her newly widowed father as he begins to embrace his queer identity. In Tuner, Canadian filmmaker Daniel Roher spins a clever conceit: a gifted piano tuner’s finely honed ear reveals an unexpected talent for safecracking, sending his life spiralling into chaos. 

This month’s must-see documentaries include Our Land, Orban Wallace’s powerful exploration of the UK’s burgeoning right-to-roam movement, which makes a compelling case for extending walkers’ access to the English and Welsh countryside in line with Scotland’s more expansive freedoms. The Balloonists sees John Dower chart Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones’ knuckle-biting bid to fly non-stop around the globe by hot-air balloon, battling extreme weather, technical setbacks and fierce rivalry along the way. While in Northern Soul: Still Burning, Alan Byron delves deep into the enduring cultural phenomenon, tracing how the movement has “weaved and transformed itself musically and culturally” from the late 60s right up until today.

Food & Drink

If you’re seeking delicious new dining opportunities this spring, look no further. First up, cult Parisian café and community space PaperBoy has just landed at The Standard in King’s Cross for a two-month residency running until 19 June. Menu highlights from the New York-style sandwich specialists include the Tuna Tataki Sando, the signature Wagyu Smash Burger and the delectable-looking Breakfast Bun, alongside lashings of ginger lemonade and iced tea. Hurry down.

For those looking for the perfect breakfast spot, book your table at Acre on Golborne Road, where Thomas Straker and his team have just launched a new morning menu, timed to coincide with the reopening of the restaurant’s terrace. Served from 9am on Fridays–Sundays, it builds upon Acre’s ingredient-led approach to cooking with a Mediterranean slant. Guests will be served creamy omelettes, pan con tomate and homemade bagels with smoked salmon, capers and cream cheese, as well as side dishes like potato rosti and dry-cured streaky bacon, plus a brilliant bloody mary. 

Hannah Drye of Dough Hands is quickly garnering a reputation for delivering some of London’s best pizzas. Following its continued success at the Spurstowe Arms and a much-buzzed-about pop-up at Old Nun’s Head, on 7 May Dough Hands will launch a new residency at All My Friends in Hackney Wick, serving up 20-inch pies and extra-large slices. The new menu will feature signature classics like the cheese and pepperoni pie alongside new toppings including garlic sausage and pistachio pesto, and lamiri harissa aubergine with salted ricotta.

If you’re heading to the West End for a show, the new pre-theatre menu at Michelin-starred Fitzrovia restaurant Chishuru comes highly recommended. There, chef Adejoké Bakare will be conjuring set courses centred around fragrant West African flavours. Think: ṃóínṃóín, a bean cake served with cured Irish brown trout, confit egg yolk and shitto, for starters, followed by monkfish tail, pickled celeriac and rolled cabbage filled with smoked cod, tomato, lemongrass and efu sauce. And for pudding? A flourless tigernut cake with blood orange jam, cola nut tuile, chervil and cola herb custard. Yum.

Pasta fans, rejoice. A new iteration of Padella, Tim Siadatan and Jordan Frieda’s beloved eatery, has just opened in Soho, a decade after the opening of the original Borough Market site. Located on Kingly Street, the duo’s third venture revolves around Padella’s beloved hand-rolled pastas, a curated selection of antipasti, and tantalising puddings, making use of the freshest produce from Neal’s Yard Dairy, Cobble Lane Cured and the likes. Whether you’re in the market for something new – spinach tagliarini with nettles, a hint of nutmeg and a golden egg yolk, anyone? – or simply a perfect cacio e pepe or beef shin ragu, Padella is guaranteed to please. 

Malika Green and Paschelle Brown made waves with their series of sold-out supper clubs, which ran for three years under the moniker All Roads. Now, the pair have finally acquired a permanent location – a small neighbourhood restaurant in Brixton, opening on 6 May – from which to champion the same community-driven approach and tasty fare inspired by their Carribean heritage and their love of travel. All Roads diners can expect ”bold, generous dishes with British, European and Southern American influences”, from butterbean whip with soy pecans, cherry peppers and cassava chips to pork chops served with pimento peppercorn sauce and buttered apple with thyme, and much more besides. Happy feasting!